


Starburst

by readinglovestories



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Freedom Fighters, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-08-10 01:16:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20126953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readinglovestories/pseuds/readinglovestories
Summary: Regency Corp. has done enough damage to Akielos. Damen and his freedom fighters are ready to push back.





	Starburst

**Author's Note:**

> I got the prompt "Laurent and Damen as undercover freedom fighters." and obviously I have no idea what I'm doing.

„Are you staring at Nazi bullshit again?”

Damen barely managed to shrug Nik off as he leaned heavily against his shoulder, trying to snatch his tablet. He grunted and pushed back. “Oh, shut up!”

The second attempt was more successful, and Nik managed to grab the device. Damen had to watch helplessly as his friend read the report. His smile vanished. “Holy shit, Damen. Is this…?”

“Yeah.” It was the real deal. Damen ran a hand through his hair. “Now you’d be glad it was just Nazi bullshit, huh?”

His awkward joke did nothing to diffuse the tension. Nik pulled what Damen called his thinking frown. He read the report again. It was part map, part mission protocol for a weapon shipment, but not just that. In included access codes, the names of commanding officers and their families, even a timetable for the mounting of the guards. It was what they need to finally make a change and step out of the shadows.

“How did you get this?” Nikandros asked, quiet now. Disbelief was written all over his face.

“I stole it,” Damen replied and reached for the tablet again. “Laurent left his notebook open when his Uncle called him for a conference.”

“Are you sure no one caught you?”

Nik’s worry wasn’t unfounded. Regency Corp. had their cameras everywhere, especially in their own offices. Corporate espionage was the biggest threat to the company that, fifteen years ago, turned the whole country into their own economy driven government. It had been a gruesome downward spiral – from the first factories that promised employment until now when everyone was practically enslaved to Regency and their smart technology, most of it built on the backs of miners who had to dig up the company’s Lithium and Cobalt.

The only reason Damen had been given the chance to break out of the circle of work and debt, all of it tied to Regency, was Kastor. His older brother had sold the mines in favour of not only a horrendous amount of money, but also of something resembling immunity for their entire family.

While people from Akielos suffered, outsiders had been brought in with their families. Hired for management positions their families were locked away behind steel walls, living a life of decadence and prosperity.

Damen despised it. He despised that he’d been granted access to that world, that he had to go through his teenage and college years with those snobs who thought themselves above the people they abused for their work. Nik called the books Damen soaked up like a crazy person Nazi bullshit, but he had no idea how close Damen thought he was to the truth. They were living in a totalitarian regime and Damen had been obsessing over people from the Red Orchestra and the White Rose. He had been making plans for years, building up his profile as a conscientious worker and a trustworthy employee. He was the tamed enemy for them. The grateful slave.

The Lions had been at work for over five years now with Damen as their leader and after more than one failed attempt to finally crack Regency and tear down the communication barrier their CEO had installed, it looked like they would finally succeed. If they got their hands on weapons and managed to infiltrate the buildings, it would be easy to force a member of the senior council to log themselves into their computer. The internet would no longer be restricted to just Akielos, but they’d be able to contact the outside world and ask for help.

With a grim smile, Damen explained his plan to Nikandros.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Nik said, but then without even waiting for the answer, he headed out to gather their people.

\---

It was a time sensitive plan. They had to wait for the weapons to arrive, overcome the guards, go in on their behalf. From that point on, everyone had their job to do. Damen was ready and he stepped out on the street, dressed as a Regency guard, to stop the first car of the convoy. But it wasn’t a soldier who opened the car’s window. It wasn’t even a driver. It was Laurent de Vere himself, Regency’s heir and future CEO. “You’re late.”

Damen’s eyes widened. There was no way out for him. The gun in his hands wasn’t real, it wouldn’t even pass the test of a second look. It was meant just a distraction, just long enough so Nik and his guys could…

There was shouting from the back of the convoy and Damen didn’t even want to know what was happening. Laurent opened the door and stepped out of the car. There was a moment when Damen just wanted to grab him punch his arrogant face in. But something stopped him. A bitterness. Maybe he just wanted a reason why. Why was all of this happening? Was it really just money? And could someone like Laurent sleep peacefully with so much blood on his hands?

“So it was all a trap,” Damen spit out and shook his head. The shouting from the convoy had quieted down. Since Nik hadn’t showed up, Damen feared for the worst. “Did you enjoy this?”

“Oh, you got it all wrong, sweetheart,” Laurent said and shot him a smile that made Damen’s blood run cold. “I’m not a trap. I’m backup.”

Laurent raised his fist and the convoy door opened. Soldiers jumped out, all of them with the symbol of a star airbrushed onto their uniforms. Starburst had written pamphlets that had been considered treason for about three years now. They had picked their symbol of a dying star as a direct message to the Regency’s sun logo.

“You’re…” Damen looked around and swallowed hard. “But Regency…?”

“Is my Uncle’s idea of a business,” Laurent answered the unasked question. “It’s not mine. Now. We have the weapons and now we actually have enough people for my plan.”

“Your plan?” Damen asked, still not fully convinced. “Oh no, we’re playing by my rules or none at all.”

\---

They were playing by Laurent’s rule.

\---

Four hours. It had taken four hours to take down the guards and replace them with their own. Four hours to infiltrate the homes of the senior council and lock them down. Four hours to sent off messages to various countries of the world, asking for immediate help.

His people were celebrating. The wall’s gates had been opened. Akielos called for a civil war – which they didn’t get. Nik and his men made sure of that. That didn’t stop anyone from rioting within the acceptable framework of this rebellion. Mostly it was about entering stores and stealing chocolate and cheese. There was the occasional brawl, but between Starburst and the Lions, people tried to stay calm after the promise of being rid of Regency soon.

Damen felt like celebrating too. After working for this for so long, it almost felt as if it had all been over too soon. The relief had not yet kicked in. Or maybe it was because the person who had provided them with their plan was not with them.

“I’m going to look for him,” Damen told Nik after pacing up and down their meeting point, a small square in a quiet part of the wealthy complex.

“Please tell me you that your adrenaline rush didn’t kill all your smart brain cells and only left you for those thirsty for whipped cream,” Nik said with a sigh.

Damen didn’t feel like answering. “I’ll be back.”

\---

He found Laurent at his own residence. His Uncle’s residence. The doors were open wide, and Damen lifted his gun before he entered. He didn’t really have to.

The first room to the right in the grand foyer was the kitchen and it was empty. The second was the living room. Laurent was sitting on the table made of solid marble. He was staring at his Uncle who slipped halfway down the expensive white leather couch, now stained red. There was just a small red dot on the left side of his face while his entire right temple was missing.

“Laurent?” Damen asked, cautiously stepping closer. “Did you… Was that you?”

Laurent took a deep breath and stood up, aiming his gun at Damen. “I should kill you too.”

Damen immediately raised his hands. “Whoa, hold on…”

Laurent wasn’t crying, but his eyes were red rimmed. His face wasn’t just pale, but ashen. “Did you know that my Uncle thought Gus was behind the Lions? He tracked an IP back to his dorm room.”

“What?” Damen’s heart skipped a beat. He had been Auguste’s roommate for about a year. They’d become something like friends. As close a friend as you could be with the enemy.

“He killed him!” Laurent yelled and stepped closer, putting his second head around the gun as he started to tremble. “He killed my brother and framed it as an accident. But I knew it was you. I don’t know why my Uncle didn’t see it.”

“He did,” Damen said with a raspy voice, the pieces suddenly falling into place. “But it was easier this way, wasn’t it? He got rid of your brother who was almost old enough to take over the company. I was never a real danger unless I could turn someone from the senior council – which would never happen – or you. And you hated me for what happened to Gus. Is that why you broke things off with me? You blamed me?”

“I _blame_ you,” Laurent said between gritted teeth. “I do.”

Laurent turned to look at his Uncle again and when he looked back at Damen, it was so clear what he was thinking. _You deserve this too._

And Damen thought that maybe Laurent was right.

“It should have been me,” Damen said and he took another step forward. “Because I led the Lions. Your brother was a good guy. He deserved better. But maybe… Maybe it wasn’t me because my people need me. We need to build something out of this mess.”

“We?” Laurent asked incredulously.

“Regency has controlled Akielos for over a decade.” Damen shook his head. “We will need your help. And you’re the new CEO. And currently ruling Governor with the law your Uncle installed.”

“I’m no Governor,” Laurent said with a bitter laugh. “I killed him.”

“No, you didn’t.” Damen closed the distance between them and took the gun from Laurent’s hand. Their eyes met. Laurent’s widened.

It was a sacrifice. But one worth making. Damen smiled sadly and Laurent finally had something like forgiveness in his eyes.


End file.
